Monday, March 31, 2014

March 31 (BBC News Europe) US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced no breakthrough on Ukraine, following four hours of "frank" talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Mr Kerry said he told Mr Lavrov that the US still considered Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region to be "illegal and illegitimate". He said he had stressed that no decision on Ukraine's future could be made without Kiev's involvement. Earlier Mr Lavrov set out demands for a neutral and federal Ukraine.
Mr Kerry told a news conference in Paris: "We will not accept a path forward where the legitimate government of Ukraine is not at the table. "This principle is clear: no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine." He said he had also raised "strong concerns" about the presence of Russian troops on the Ukraine border, which he said created a climate of fear and intimidation.

Pro-European activists held a rally in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on Sunday

Meanwhile pro-Russian demonstrators gathered at a World War Two museum in Donetsk
Read more at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26814651

Sunday, March 30, 2014

March 29 (BBC News Ukraine) People in the
Crimean capital Simferopol have been celebrating the clocks changing to
synchronise with the time in Moscow. Moscow formally annexed Crimea earlier in
March after the predominantly ethnically Russian region held a referendum which
backed joining Russia.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

March 28 (http://www.npr.org/) Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Obama to "discuss the U.S. proposal for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine," the White House said on Friday. Obama, the White House said, suggested Russia "put a concrete response in writing" to a proposal delivered by Secretary of State John Kerry to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting at the Hague this week. The presidents agreed that Kerry and Lavrov should meet "to discuss next steps."
In a readout of the call, the White House said Obama told Putin that Ukraine has taken a restrained position toward Russia, and he urged Russia to support the country's move toward democratic elections and constitutional reform.

The two countries have been at an impasse since Russia annexed Crimea, a peninsula in the southern part of Ukraine with historic ties to Russia. Obama has tried to rally European support for sanctions against Russia over the crisis.
"President Obama underscored to President Putin that the United States continues to support a diplomatic path in close consultation with the Government of Ukraine and in support of the Ukrainian people with the aim of de-escalation of the crisis," the White House said. "President Obama made clear that this remains possible only if Russia pulls back its troops and does not take any steps to further violate Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty."

Friday, March 28, 2014

March 27 (Ukrinform) In case of emergencies, bomb-shelters
in Kyiv have enough space for all residents and guests of the city, Head
of Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) said this at an off-site
meeting on Thursday. "All the conditions [in air-raid shelters in the capital -
ed.] in Kyiv are provided for half million people," Bondarenko said. "If we talk about a system that relates to the underground
space of the Kyiv Metro and underground parking sites, 100% of Kyiv
residents can be accommodated there," Bondarenko noted. Earlier it was reported that in Kyiv there are 526 bomb
shelters. Of them 299 are in the municipal ownership of the city and
another 124 are owned by private entities (factories and enterprises).

March 28 (BBC
News Ukraine) Following
Russia's annexation of the Crimea, the West is trying to work out what the
Kremlin's next move will be. President Obama has expressed concern about
Russia's troop build-up on the Ukrainian border, accusing Moscow of
intimidating Kiev. Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg assesses President
Putin's strategy in what has become an increasingly tense "geo-political
chess game" between East and West.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

March 25
(BBC News Europe) A Ukrainian ultra-nationalist leader has been shot dead in
what officials describe as a special forces operation. Oleksandr Muzychko,
better known as Sashko Bily, died in a shoot-out with police in a cafe in Rivne
in western Ukraine, the interior ministry said. He was a leader of Right
Sector, a far-right group which was prominent in the recent anti-government
protests. Meanwhile, Ukraine's parliament has voted to accept the resignation
of Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh.

Mr Tenyukh had been accused of
indecision in the face of Russia's military takeover of Crimea. The shooting of
Muzychko happened just hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had
held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia - their first
meeting since Russia's move into Crimea triggered a diplomatic crisis.

Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister
Vladimir Yevdokimov said Muzychko died after opening fire at police and Sokol
special forces, who had raided a cafe to arrest him and fellow ultra-nationalists.
The authorities described Muzychko as a criminal gang leader. During the raid,
Muzychko fired at police as he was trying to flee, wounding one of them. Police
then returned fire and captured him and three others in his "criminal
gang", Mr Yevdokimov said.

"He was still alive as they
were arresting him - but then the paramedics, called to the scene, found that
he had died," Mr Yevdokimov said. The three arrested gang members have
been taken to Kiev for questioning. A Right Sector organiser in Rivne has now
threatened revenge for the killing of Muzychko, saying he had not been summoned
by investigators. "We will avenge ourselves on [Interior Minister] Arsen
Avakov for the death of our brother. The shooting of Sashko Bily is a contract
killing ordered by the minister," said Roman Koval of the Right Sector in
Rivne region, quoted by the Ukrayinska Pravda website.

Moscow says the activities of Right
Sector and other Ukrainian nationalist groups pose a threat to the large
Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin gave that as one
of his reasons for intervening in Crimea. However, some commentators say Russia
has deliberately whipped up such fears, and that the influence of Right Sector
in Ukrainian politics is exaggerated. Earlier, Russian authorities issued an
arrest warrant for Muzychko, accusing him of atrocities against Russian
soldiers in Chechnya. The Russian indictment says he tortured captive Russian
soldiers in the 1990s, when Moscow was trying to crush Chechen separatist
guerrillas. Muzychko denied the allegations. Reports say he led a group of
Ukrainian nationalists who fought alongside the Chechen rebels.

A unit of Ukrainian officer cadets was
recently sent to the Donetsk region, in the east of the country, to help
reinforce the border, after Russia annexed Crimea earlier this month. One of those - Maxim Garmash - was born in the area. And with many of the people in the region supporting Russia, he found the cadets were far from welcome.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

March 24 (BBC News Europe) Europe's leaders believe their asset freezes and travel bans against
33 Russian and Crimean officials have sent a powerful message. European officials last week insisted that the measures
announced so far are having an impact. But President Putin scoffed at
the moves. Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, Volodymyr Khandogiy, said
that Europe had not done enough to help Ukraine. "The US," he went on to
say, "is more resolute in their actions and words".

What the Americans have done is to impose sanctions on some
of the Russian president's inner circle and they have moved against Bank
Rossiya - one of the Kremlin's favourite banks. But powerful Russians spend much more time in Europe than in
America. It is where they invest their funds, where they buy their
football clubs, where they party and where often they choose to educate
their children. Europe's leaders, if they chose, could still hurt those
closest to President Putin, but so far they have been very cautious. Other moves are no more than gestures: ending bilateral
Russia-EU summits; declaring the G8 has been replaced by a G7 without
Russia. What is unclear is what precisely would trigger the Europeans
moving to economic sanctions and whether it would be possible to
maintain European unity. And without unanimity there can be no economic
sanctions. Read more at

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26711621

EU leaders have met several times to co-ordinate their response to the Ukraine crisis

Saturday, March 22, 2014

March 22 (BBC News Europe) Shooting and explosions have been heard as Russian troops backed by armoured vehicles stormed a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea. Reports say at least one person was injured during the
assault on Belbek base, near Sevastopol. Two armoured personnel carriers burst through the wall of the base followed by Russian troops firing weapons in the air. The base is now said to be
under Russian control. Earlier, several hundred unarmed protesters seized a Ukrainian naval base at Novofedorivka, western Crimea. Pro-Russian militia have also been seizing Ukrainian navy ships. The BBC's Ian Pannell, in Crimea, says the Ukrainian troops
on the peninsula feel beleaguered and abandoned by their commanders in
Ukraine. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law
formalising Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh
sanctions from the EU and the US.

Read more and see video at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26698754

Friday, March 21, 2014

March 21 (BBC News Europe) Russian authorities
have taken over a Ukrainian-owned sweet factory in the southern Russian city of
Lipetsk, Ukraine's government says. Russian riot police moved in on the Roshen
factory and halted production on Wednesday, the finance and economic ministries
said. A spokesperson for the firm confirmed the "plant is closed". Roshen
company is controlled by Ukrainian businessman and pro-European MP Petro
Poroshenko. He is planning to stand in May's presidential elections. Ukraine's
finance and economic ministries said Russian authorities had shown no
documentation giving them the right "to burst on to the company's property
and halt production". Alexander Zolotarev, press spokesman for Roshen CIS,
said the Lipetsk plant closed after police arrived and sent all the workers
home.

Petro Poroshenko has occupied top posts in Ukrainian politics

'Chocolate war'

Last July, Russia's consumer watchdog banned sales of Roshen sweets, citing health concerns. But many observers thought it to be Moscow's response to Mr Poroshenko's political activities rather than concern for the welfare of Russia's chocolate fans. The ban was eventually lifted in November. Mr Poroshenko was among opposition figures in Ukraine who called for the country to resist Russia's invitation to join the Moscow-led Customs Union and instead integrate with Europe. Ukraine's seventh richest man, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated fortune of $1.3bn (£787m), Mr Poroshenko was a supporter of the Maidan protests that ultimately led to the overthrow of Ukraine's president Viktor Yanukovych last month. The factory's closure comes at a time of high tensions between Ukraine and Russia following the outcome of Sunday's referendum in Crimea to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Angered by what is sees as Russian intervention on Ukrainian territory, the US and the EU are considering escalating sanctions against those it suspects of playing a part in the crisis.

On Monday, March 17, Kiev officially recalled
its ambassador from Moscow for consultations on its breakaway region of Crimea,
the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Ambassador Volodymyr
Yelchenko was recalled to discuss “certain international aspects” of Sunday’s
referendum in Crimea, in which 96.7 percent of voters in the southern Ukrainian
region had backed reunification with Russia after 60 years as part of Ukraine. Russia
officially recognized Crimea as an independent state on Monday evening. The
formal accession request now should be considered and approved by the Russian
parliament. Then it must be approved by the Constitutional Court, which, in its
turn, would forward it to the parliament for ratification. Ukrainian officials
now tend to break off all diplomatic and economic relations with Russia. They
also call European and US authorities to introduce sanctions against Russian
officials. The referendum in Crimea, the autonomous republic within Ukraine,
which was held on Sunday amid an ongoing political crisis in the country, is at
the center of the most serious geopolitical showdown between Russia and the
West since the end of the Cold War.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

March 18 (BBC News Europe) President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Crimea have signed a bill to absorb the peninsula into Russia. In a televised address,
Vladimir Putin said Crimea "had always been part of Russia", and denied
he was interested in annexing more territory. "Tank
traps" have been placed, and trenches dug on Ukraine's eastern border in order to repel any Russian
attack.

Read more and see video at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26636085

March 18 (BBC News Europe) Mr Putin is due to address both houses of the Russian parliament in a
special session at 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT). A delegation of
Crimea's new leaders is also expected to attend. Russian news website Gazeta.ru, quoting sources, says that after the
speech, President Putin and the speaker of the Crimean parliament,
Vladimir Konstantinov, are expected to sign an agreement on Crimea's
"entry into the Russian Federation". Having approved the draft bill, Mr Putin has told MPs "to
consider it practical to sign the agreement at the highest level,"
Russia's Interfax news agency reports. Once signed, the bill must be approved by the constitutional court and then ratified by parliament. The process is likely to be completed this week, after which
Crimea is expected to be considered a new part of the Russian
Federation, with the status of a republic. In a sign of the wider impact of the Crimean referendum,
parliament in the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester announced
on Tuesday that it too had appealed to Moscow for the right to join
Russia, reports said.

Monday, March 17, 2014

March 17 (Interfax - Ukraine) The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has approved a decree
issued by acting Ukrainian President and parliament speaker Oleksandr
Turchynov on partial army mobilization.

The decision was supported by 275 out of 308 MPs registered in the
session hall on Monday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported. As was earlier reported, Turchynov said he had signed a decree on partial mobilization. "I have signed a decree on partial mobilization," Turchynov said in a
plenary session of the Ukrainian parliament on Monday morning.

Turchynov said the decree was signed due to the situation with the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea, "with due regard to further aggression in
the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which Russia is trying to hide under
a great farce called a 'referendum,' which will never be recognized by
either Ukraine or the whole civilized world." The Ukrainian parliament also registered a draft law approving the presidential decree on partial mobilization. In accordance with the explanatory note attached to the bill on the
approval of the presidential decree, a decision on partial mobilization
was made "due to the exacerbation of the sociopolitical situation on the
Crimean peninsula." Partial mobilization is conducted on the territory of all regions of
Ukraine and in Kyiv. In Crimea and Sevastopol, citizens subject to
mobilization are citizens who have voluntarily expressed a wish to be
conscripted, including by coming to military commissariats and military
units. "The decree creates conditions for introducing a military time regime
in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard of Ukraine, and other
military units of Ukraine and civil defense operative and rescue
services," the agenda says. The mobilization will be conducted for a period for 45 days from the day of enactment of the aforementioned decree.

In accordance with Article 85 of the Ukrainian Constitution, the
Ukrainian parliament has the powers to approve decrees introducing
martial law or states of emergency in Ukraine or in some of its regions,
general or partial mobilization, and on declaring specific areas as
zones of ecological emergency within two days of a request being made by
the president of Ukraine.

March 17 (BBC News Europe) The week ahead will test Europe's resolve and its ability to act over Ukraine. One senior official in Brussels said: "It is going to be a major test of European unity post-Cold War."

The EU has warned Russia of "consequences" if it does not
engage in serious dialogue and pull back its forces. The EU will discuss
moving to sanctions against Moscow.

So, on Monday, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers and later
in the week at a EU summit they will have to ratchet up the pressure on
Russia.So far the EU has made a gesture: it has suspended talks on
an economic pact with Russia and an easing of visa restrictions. In
Moscow those measures have been seen as little more than irritants. Both the US and the EU have said they will not recognise the result of the referendum in Crimea. French President Francois Hollande said he would not
recognise "this pseudo-consultation". British Foreign Secretary William
Hague said "the time has come for tougher restrictive measures to be
adopted".

Pro-Russian activists held a concert in Sevastopol to celebrate the results of the Crimean referendum

Sunday, March 16, 2014

16 March 2014 (BBC News Europe)Crimea is voting on whether to rejoin Russia or stay with Ukraine but with more autonomy. The referendum has been condemned as "illegal" by Kiev and the West but is backed by Moscow. Since the fall of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor
Yanukovych, Russian troops have in effect taken control of the majority
ethnic-Russian region.Voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine, but Crimean Tatars are boycotting the poll.The BBC's Ben Brown at a polling station in the Crimean
capital, Simferopol, reported a strong turnout - with 100 people
arriving in the first 10 minutes after polls opened.Polling stations across Crimea opened at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) and will close 12 hours later.

The West has declared the vote illegal while Moscow says it will respect the outcome

A high turnout was reported in early voting at some polling stations

Crimea's authorities describe the Kiev government as "fascist", urging residents to vote for union with Russia

March 15, 2014 (BBC News Europe) Russia has vetoed a draft UN resolution criticising Sunday's secession
referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region - the only Security Council member
to vote against the measure. China, regarded as a Russian ally on the
issue, abstained from the vote.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin votes against a resolution on Ukraine during a UN Security Council emergency meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York on March 15, 2014.

March 15 (BBC News
Europe) On the eve of the referendum in Crimea, tens of thousands rallied in Moscow
against Russia's actions in Ukraine, the biggest such protest in two years. As
many as 50,000 attended the rally, with protesters shouting: "Hands off
Ukraine." One man told the BBC he felt Russia was turning back to the days
of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Nearby, some 15,000 supporters of President
Vladimir Putin came out to support the Crimean referendum. Many of them wore
identical red outfits and carried Russian and Soviet flags "We are for
friendship of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples. We want to say a firm 'No' to
the fascist junta that came to power in Ukraine," one man said.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

15 March 2014 (BBC News Europe) Two people have been
killed in clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists in Ukraine's
eastern city of Kharkiv, officials say. Five people were injured overnight, as
gunshots were fired. Rival groups blamed each other for the violence. Earlier,
Russia and the US failed to agree on how to resolve the crisis in Ukraine's
Crimea region, ahead of a secession referendum there. Russia vowed to respect
Sunday's vote - but the US said it was illegitimate. Moscow has been tightening
its military grip on Crimea - the southern autonomous republic in Ukraine -
where voters are to decide on whether to re-join Russia or stay with Kiev.

14
March 2014 (BBC News Europe)Russia
and the US have "no common vision" on the crisis in Ukraine, Russia's
foreign minister has said, after talks with his US counterpart. However Sergei
Lavrov called his London meeting with John Kerry "constructive". Mr
Kerry said the US was "deeply concerned" about Russia sending troops
to the Ukraine border and in Crimea. Mr Lavrov said Moscow would respect the
result of Sunday's referendum in Crimea on whether to join Russia but Mr Kerry
said the US would not recognize it. After six hours of talks between the two
men, Mr Lavrov told reporters that Russia had no plans to invade south-eastern
Ukraine. Russia would "respect the will of the people of Crimea", he
said. Both men described the talks as constructive. But Mr Lavrov's phrase seems to sum up this encounter: "No common vision."Voters in Crimea - the southern autonomous republic in Ukraine - are to
decide on whether to re-join Russia or stay with Kiev. In a separate
development, pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists clashed in the eastern
Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Eyewitnesses say gunfire was heard, and unconfirmed
reports suggest there were casualties. This follows Thursday night's violence
in Donetsk, also in the east, where at least one person died in fighting
between a pro-Russian crowd and supporters of the new government in Kiev.

The two foreign
ministers met amid tight security at the US ambassador's residence in London.Read more at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26583697

Friday, March 14, 2014

The Russian federation has two types
of troops. The ones that are located on the Crimean peninsula on the bases of
the intergovernmental treaties and unknown soldiers, who do not carry military
rank insignia or cockade as the official position of the ministry of the
Russian federation is that Russia does not take part in the processes happening
on the peninsula and the auxiliary troops do not belong to the Russian
federation, but are based on the local initiatives.Some national
signs have been traced on the basis of the Russian register plates having
numbers "21" (Republick of Chuvashia) and "90" (Moscow region)

Thursday, March 13, 2014

March 13 (BBC News Europe) Ukraine’s parliament has voted to create a 60,000-strong National Guard to bolster the country’s defences. The vote came ahead of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, now controlled
by pro-Moscow forces, on whether citizens want to join Russia. President Vladimir Putin insists Russia is not to blame for the crisis. But Germany’s Angela Merkel says Moscow faces “massive” political and
economic damage if it refuses to change course. The US has also
threatened action.

The new National Guard is expected to be recruited from activists
involved in the recent pro-Western protests as well as from military
academies. Ukraine’s national security chief Andriy Parubiy said the
Guard would be deployed to “ensure state security, defend the borders,
and eliminate terrorist groups”. The Russian military and pro-Russian armed men moved in to seize key
sites in Crimea – an autonomous region of Ukraine whose population is
mainly ethnic Russian – in late February after the fall of President
Viktor Yanukovych.

But Mr Putin told Paralympic delegates in the Black Sea port of Sochi
on Thursday: “Russia was not the initiator of the circumstances that
have taken shape.” But the German chancellor said on Thursday that
Russia was exploiting the weakness of neighbouring Ukraine, rather than
acting as a partner for stability. She has threatened an escalating
series of EU measures if Russia does not relax the tension in Ukraine.

In a statement to the Bundestag, she said political and diplomatic
measures, rather than military action, were the way to resolve the
crisis. ”If Russia continues on its course of the past weeks, it will
not only be a catastrophe for Ukraine,” she said.

13 March 2014 (BBC News Europe)Mr Firtash, one of Ukraine's richest men, is wanted by US authorities
on suspicion of corruption and forming a criminal organisation. The 48-year-old was regarded one of the main backers of the ousted Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych. Austrian police said the arrest was not related to current political events in Ukraine."A national arrest order was issued for the businessman on
the basis of several years of investigation by the US FBI and an arrest
warrant," a police statement said. He was arrested in an area of Vienna where one of his businesses was registered, Austrian media say.

Mr Firtash is founder and chairman of Group DF, whose website
describes it as an international group of companies operating across
Europe and Asia in energy and banking. He also has many interests in petrochemicals and media. Mr Firtash was a powerful voice in Ukraine's economic policy
circles under former President Yanukovych, who was ousted by
pro-European protesters last month. Much of the anger behind the protests was fuelled by
perceptions of corruption, and the alleged close links between the
government and oligarchs. Mr Firtash is not named on an initial EU list
of Ukrainians suspected of misusing state funds and violating human
rights, and whose assets are to be frozen as a result of the crisis over
the Russian takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region.

March 12 (Euronews) Posters carrying strong messages calling for peace in Ukraine line a street leading to Kyiv’s Independence Square. The colourful
display faces onto the barricades that still stand at Maidan.Organised by Voices of Peace, a Ukrainian designers and artists
collective, this open-air exhibition in Kyiv has gathered posters
created by graphic designers from 41 countries. Hanna Mikheeva, poster campaign supervisor, explained about the
popularity of the exhibition amongst artists: “You can see 60 posters,
but actually we received more than 200 posters from all over the world.” “We received pictures from Belarus, the USA, Russia, Ecuador and Iran,” Mikheeva added. One visitor didn’t think the posters, “will prevent Russians from
invading Ukraine, but these pictures may keep up spirit of Ukrainian
people!” Some posters were made into postcards carrying a simple message: “No
War,” one of which was mailed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Voices of Peace exhibition runs until April 12 in Kyiv.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

GEILENKIRCHEN, Germany March 12, 2014 (AP) NATO deployed two surveillance
aircraft Wednesday to monitor Ukraine's air space and Black Sea ship movements
as Russia consolidated its military buildup in Crimea. NATO headquarters
spokesman Lt. Col. Jay Janzen said one aircraft based in England would observe
Russian air and sea movements from Polish air space, while the other based in
Germany would fly over Romania. Both Poland and Romania are NATO members and
border Ukraine, and Romania's Black Sea coast is only about 220 kilometers (140
miles) from the Crimean peninsula.

Janzen
said the planes — both Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft that sport a rotating radar
dome above the fuselage — would be able to monitor military movements covering
an area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,000 square miles) and will not leave
NATO air space. "Regardless, we can observe, we can look, a very long
way," he said. The Sentry is also known as AWACS, short for "airborne
warning and control system," and is the main battlefield command and
surveillance aircraft for NATO air forces. The 28-nation NATO alliance decided
Monday to use AWACS to monitor Russia's military buildup, and the first Sentry
sortie over Romania happened Tuesday, Janzen said.
The Tuesday and Wednesday sorties had previously
been planned as training flights before NATO's decision, but were then
reconfigured to be part of the new mission, Janzen said. More operations are
now being planned. The U.S. Air Force already has deployed extra combat
fighters to NATO bases in Eastern Europe, including six F-15s last week in
Lithuania and a dozen F-16s this week in Poland. Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy
destroyer joined Bulgarian and Romanian naval forces in the Black Sea for
exercises a few hundred miles off the Crimean peninsula. The drills on
Wednesday include the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxton, the Bulgarian naval
frigate Drazki and three Romanian vessels. Bulgaria's Defense Ministry said in
a statement that the drills were planned in 2013 and were in no way related to
the recent events in the Ukraine.

Read more athttp://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nato-flying-surveillance-planes-ukraine-border-22871991

12 March 2014 (BBC News Europe)Russia's leaders are
refusing all negotiations with their Ukrainian counterparts, Ukraine's
acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has said. He told AFP news agency that Ukraine would not intervene
militarily in Crimea, even though a secession referendum there was a
"sham". Meanwhile interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is travelling to the US to meet President Barack Obama. On Thursday he is due to address the UN Security Council in New York.

"We cannot launch a military operation in Crimea, as we would expose the
eastern border [close to Russia] and Ukraine would not be protected,"
Mr Turchynov told AFP.

He said that Sunday's referendum in Crimea - in which people on the
peninsula will decide whether or not to become part of Russia - was "a
provocation" that would be boycotted by most people. "The Russian forces don't intend to hold a referendum, they're just going to falsify the results," he said. The president said that at the same time the Russian government was refusing to enter into any dialogue with Ukraine. There has been a call for the release of missing Ukrainians. "Unfortunately, for now Russia is rejecting a diplomatic solution to the conflict," he told AFP. Mr Turchynov earlier on Tuesday called for the creation of a national guard and provide support to troops. He said that the force would include volunteers with military
experience who would be on guard against external and internal
aggression.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych has blamed his opponents
for the crisis in Crimea. Meanwhile, Crimea has voted in favor of
adopting a declaration of independence ahead of Sunday’s referendum to
join Russia.

Speaking from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Tuesday, March 11 Ukraine's former leader
Viktor Yanukovych restated his belief that power in Kyiv had been taken
by a "band of ultranationalists and neofascists" and that presidential
elections set for May 25 would be "absolutely illegitimate and illegal." In what was his first public appearance in a week, Yanukovych also
blamed his opponents for the crisis on the country's Crimean peninsula,
where pro-Russian troops are blockading Ukrainian soldiers. The predominately Russian-speaking region has set a referendum on joining Russia
to take place on Sunday. On Tuesday, lawmakers in Crimea voted in favor
of adopting a declaration of independence from Ukraine in a precursor
to the referendum. Yanukovych, who surfaced in Russia after leaving Kyiv late last month,
also reiterated that he was Ukraine's legitimate president and would
soon return. "As soon as the circumstances allow - and I am sure there
is not long to wait - I will without doubt return to Kyiv." He also lashed out against the West for acting as "protectors of the dark forces" currently in power. He argued that financial aid from the United States to the new Ukrainian
government violates US statute. "Your own law gives no right to give
money to bandits," he said.

Sanctions against Russia?

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has assured ex-Soviet
Baltic states that NATO and the EU stand behind them amid rising
tensions over the crisis in Ukraine. "I am here to say that the Baltic states will not be left alone. This is
a joint problem for NATO and the EU," Steinmeier said in Tallinn,
Estonia, on Tuesday, ahead of talks in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania.
All three countries have large Russian minorities.

Steinmeier said the EU would rather avoid confrontation with Russia but
would have to prepare a response if the country did not back down. Russia has officially denied that its troops are taking part in any blockades and have described
armed men posted on the peninsula as Crimea's "self-defense" forces. His comments come as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that sunctions against Russia could come as early as this week if Moscow did not respond to proposals to solve the crisis. Fabius told the radio station France Inter that the planned referendum
in Crimea on joining Russia would be illegal. "The only legitimate vote
is that of May 25 for the president of the republic in Ukraine," he
said.

Read more at
http://www.dw.de/former-ukrainian-president-yanukovych-blames-opponents-for-crimea-crisis/a-17487232

Ukraine’s parliament has warned Crimea’s regional assembly it will be dissolved unless it cancels a referendum over over joining Russia. Kyiv said Crimea had until wednesday to call it off. Meanwhile the Crimean Parliament stated on Tuesday it would declare
itself an independent state if people vote in favour of joining Russia.
It would then officially ask to become part of the Russian federation.In a secret sitting, MPs voted 78 to 3 in favour of a declaration of independence from Ukraine. The declaration cites Kosovo’s separation from Serbia as a legal precedent.

The city of Sevastopol is also taking part in the referendum
although according to the constitution of Ukraine it does not fall under
the administration of Crimea but Kyiv. However it is currently occupied
by pro-Russian forces and is the base of the Russian fleet.The referendum is due to be held on March 16.

More information is available at
http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/11/crimea-mps-vote-in-favour-of-independence-from-ukraine/

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 (Embassy of Ukraine in the USA) Crimea, an integral part of Ukraine, is being occupied by foreign troops.Extremist movement fed up from outside is intensifying in eastern parts of Ukraine.

On March 10, 2014, the developments were characterized by the following:

Continuation of blockade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces in Crimea, extension of Russia’s military presence on the peninsula

Pro-Russian “puppet” government of Crimea has announced the formation of armed forces, autonomous from Ukraine

In Simferopol, the forces of so-called “self-defense” under disguise of members of election commission destroy Ukrainian passports of local citizens

In Sevastopol, electricity was cut off at the Headquarters of Ukraine’s Naval Forces

In Bakhchysarai, a military unit of Ukraine’s Armed Forces was seized by Russian troopsIn Chornomorsk, a missile service unit of Ukraine’s Armed Forces was seized by Russian troopsIn Novofedorivka, a base of Ukraine’s Air Forces was repeatedly assaulted and partly seized

On cape Tarkhankut, a radar squadron of Ukraine’s Air Force was assaulted by Russian troops

In Simferopol, a military hospital was seized by so-called “self-defense” forces

Participation of Russian nationalist radicals in extremist actions and provocations on the territory of Ukraine, intimidation and physical harassment of anti-war activists and journalists

In the village of Chongari (Kherson region), armed members of former police unit “Berkut” assaulted participants of anti-war car rally, leaving at least one person heavily wounded

In Lugansk, pro-Russian radicals attacked two groups of journalists destroying their equipment and seized local TV broadcasting company “IRTA”

In Lugansk, a man was badly beaten after installing Ukrainian flag on the building of regional administration

Monday, March 10, 2014

March 10, 2014
(Agence France-Presse) Former Russian oil tycoon and top Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky criticised Moscow's interference in Ukraine on Monday, as tensions in the former Soviet state continued to rise. "Russia's gross interference into Ukraine's revolutionary process was a historic mistake," Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade behind Russian bars, said in front of a packed crowd at Kiev's Polytechnic Institute.

Khodorkovsky spoke a day after he held an emotional speech on Independence Square, site of deadly protests that brought down the pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych. "Russia is creating a dangerous precedent for itself," he added, warning that Moscow's moves in the former Soviet state could one day be used against the Kremlin at home. A leading foe of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Khodorkovsky predicted that solving the crisis in Crimea would take "decades". Tensions in Ukraine - which began with three months of protests against the pro-Moscow regime, resulting in Yanukovych's ouster and a death toll of 100 - took a new turn with Russia effectively taking control of the strategic Black Sea peninisula of Crimea. Crimea's pro-Russian local authorities - who are not recognised by the new government in Kiev - have now called for a referendum on March 16 on joining Russia.

On Sunday, Khodorkovsky made an impassioned speech on Independence Square, insisting that the killings there occurred "with the agreement of the Russian leadership". Khodorkovsky, 50, was once Russia's richest man and an influential tycoon with political ambitions, but was jailed in 2003 on fraud and embezzlement charges in a move Kremlin critics said was an effort by Putin to silence him.

A convoy of hundreds of
Russian soldiers in about 50 troop trucks drove into a base near Crimea's
capital Simferopol. The convoy was accompanied by eight armoured vehicles, two
ambulances, petrol tankers and other hardware. Russia says its only troops in
Crimea are those normally stationed there with its Black Sea Fleet, an
assertion Washington calls "(President Vladimir) Putin's fiction". Mr
Lavrov has said the Ukrainian government was taking orders from extremists and
denied Moscow had any direct role in the crisis in Crimea. "The interim
government... is not independent. It depends, unfortunately, on radical
nationalists who carried out an armed coup," he told a news conference in
Moscow. The head of Russia's upper house of parliament, after meeting visiting
Crimean politicians yesterday, said that Crimea had a right to
self-determination, and ruled out any risk of war between "the two
brotherly nations".

However, yesterday’s incident has
led Poland to evacuate its consulate in Sevastopol, according to Polish Foreign
Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Mr Sikorski said on Twitter: "Because of
continuing disturbances by Russian forces there, we have reluctantly evacuated
our consulate in Crimea, Ukraine." Senior Ukrainian opposition politician
Yulia Tymoshenko, freed from prison after Viktor Yanukovych's overthrow, met
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin and appealed for immediate EU
sanctions against Russia, warning that Crimea might otherwise slide into war. Brussels
and Washington rushed to strengthen the new authorities in economically
shattered Ukraine, announcing both political and financial assistance.

The regional director of the
International Monetary Fund said talks with Kiev on a loan agreement were going
well and praised the new government's openness to economic reform and
transparency.

A Russian soldier patrols the small
anti-submarine ship 'Muromets' in the port of Sevastopol

Sunday, March 9, 2014

As it was
reported by www.zahid.net some military
vehicles including a few dozens of 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carriers were
loaded on special train in the railway station Sknyliv located close to Lviv. Photo was taken by Yurko Dyachyshyn
on March 8, 2014.

Another big army convoy
just left Lviv in unknown direction. The Ministry of Deffence is insisting that
all armoured vehicle will be used during military field exercise without clarification
where this exercise will taken place. You can see the video showing armoured personnel carriers leaving the place of their stationong athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-GYjkWlu-1I